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When Hawaii Five-0 finally decides to give Danny a story line, it does it right. And holy moly, did Scott Caan do it right. It’s impressive that even though Danny hasn’t been a major presence so far this season, I still feel like the season has been his. I think that’s a testament to the acting that this cast is capable of when it is given rich character material. And I have to agree with Peter Lenkov on Twitter: This is definitely one of the best endings this show has ever had. Wow.

Ending of 504, tonight's ep, is one of the best we've ever done. Career highlight for sure. #HawaiiFive0Friday#H50

So before we get into that stuff, let’s knock out the case-of-the-week. A man is pulled aside by TSA. They discovered a gun during his random baggage check. So the man fights five TSA officers barehanded and heads out of the airport.

The man is Stegner, a hit man for the Bogosa crime family. Five-0 tracks him to a mall, and they send backup to catch him before he gets away. But Stegner sees the police cars at the exits, and he makes a break for it. He doesn’t get far. Stegner is shot from across the street. Super SEAL Steve manages to clip their shooter from 100 yards away, and jump onto a moving police car and run across the hood, but the shooter still gets away.

Since the shooter is bleeding badly and can’t go to a hospital, he takes two EMTs hostage. The EMTs are not subtle about trying to escape. Lady EMT offers the gunman some pain medication (okay), and Guy EMT is fishing for info…and also calling 911. And now the EMTs are knocked out and our gunman has stolen an ambulance.

Meanwhile, Five-0 has gotten some intel on the gunman. He is also a hit man for the Bogosa crime family, and he goes by Valentine. He is rumored to have over 100 kills, as evidenced by the series of stock photos their contact shows them. Valentine’s victims are never seen again.

Because of the EMTs, the team now knows where to find Valentine, and we have our obligatory car chase. This chase is very efficient since everyone is using sirens. But Valentine has lost a lot of blood, and he passes out mid-chase.

When he wakes up in the hospital, Valentine tells Five-0 that he’s in Hawaii to protect the people Bogosa hired him to kill. Two years ago, Valentine had a heart transplant. The heart came from a stereotypical good guy (teacher, homeless shelter volunteer, etc.). After the transplant, Valentine couldn’t kill anymore. Instead, he created his own witness protection program and moved his “victims” to a secret “community of people who didn’t deserve to die.” (Seriously, someone make this a movie.)

Bogosa found out, and since Stegner is dead, he’s sent six more guys to finish them all off. Valentine tells Steve where the people are hiding and Five-0 saves the day.

Throughout the episode, we follow Danny’s quest to get Reyes’s $18.5 million before the deadline. Steve rushes to Danny’s house after their phone call from the last episode. (And he knocks? Come on, you guys are closer than that.) Danny has spread out $13 million dollars over his dining room. Under normal circumstances, this would be a good thing, but Danny is missing $5.5 million that he needs to get his brother back.

Danny tries to get the remaining money from a loan shark, but he is turned down. Chin shows up and offers to help Danny get the money another way. Aaaaand we’re back to Chin’s story. He heads to visit his brother-in-law Gabriel to borrow money, but Gabe turns him down. Steve, again, suggests that he and Danny just head to Colombia and take Matt back. Danny responds, “See, that is why I love you, buddy.” I pause my TV and squeal. Danny declines Steve’s offer.

But it seems, after some soul-searching (and getting totally beat up in prison because he’s related to a cop), Gabriel is willing to pay $5.5 million dollars if Chin can get him transferred to a high-security prison with a private cell. Chin agrees, Danny is extremely grateful, and Steve and Danny are headed to Colombia.

McDanno arrive at Reyes’s shady headquarters with GIANT duffel bags. They hand over the money and Reyes says he will bring out Danny’s brother. Danny hopefully calls out “Matty?” as Reyes’s men disappear into a room…and come out with a barrel. Oh no.

Steve and Danny are both close to tears, and Danny is thisclose to completely losing it. Danny warns Reyes to kill him right now, or he will put him in the ground. Reyes counters: Don’t come back or your daughter won’t be safe. His men escort Steve and Danny upstairs for some roughing up, but Reyes, safe in his creepy basement, looks nervous. He calls out to his man, who then comes rolling down the stairs, followed quickly by Danny and Steve, both holding guns.

Reyes looks SCARED, and with good reason. Danny tells Reyes that he warned him, AND THEN HE SHOOTS HIM IN THE HEAD. Danny Williams, our beloved Jersey cop, is now a straight-up murderer. I’m not saying that Reyes didn’t have it coming, or that Danny wasn’t justified in his revenge, but this is such a strong departure for Danny. All of our core four have been in the situation to take out someone who hurt their loved one (and some have taken it), but this is a decisive moment for Danny’s character. This is truly excellent character stuff for Scott to work with (his forte), and the dynamic between Steve and Danny should be interesting since Steve was an accomplice/witness. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.

Expression Of JoyThe Brady Bunch: Groovy! The Bradys: Ritual hugging Married…With Children: ”Oh, great.” Thirtysomething: ”Of course I’m happy for you. Really. But what about me? Why does it always have to be about you? The Flintstones: ”Yabba-dabba doo

Expression Of Rage

The Brady Bunch: ”Hmmm…” The Bradys: ”If you back away from something you really want, then you’re a quitter!” (the angriest any Brady has ever been) Married…With Children: ”Aaagh, God, take me from this miserable life!” Thirtysomething: ”I’m not angry, OK?” The Flintstones: ”Willllmaaaa!”

Typical ProblemThe Brady Bunch: Marcia and her rival both want to be the prom queen. The Bradys: Bobby gets paralyzed. Married…With Children: Al doesn’t buy his family Christmas presents. Thirtysomething: Nancy gets cancer. The Flintstones: Fred and Barney are staying out too late.

Typical SolutionThe Brady Bunch: The prom committee decides to have two queens. The Bradys: Bobby gets married. Married…With Children: They hate him. Thirtysomething: If only we knew… The Flintstones: Wilma and Betty decide to follow them.

Attitude Toward SexThe Brady Bunch: Never heard of it The Bradys: Omigod — even Cindy does it! Married…With Children: Peg: Yes. Al: No. Thirtysomething: They didn’t get all those kids by accident. The Flintstones: Prehistoric

How Spouses FightThe Brady Bunch: They don’t. The Bradys: Infrequently, but it happens Married…With Children: Tooth and nail Thirtysomething: They stop talking The Flintstones: Fred and Barney go bowling while Wilma and Betty max out their charge cards.

How Kids Get Into TroubleThe Brady Bunch: Greg takes a puff of a cigarette. The Bradys: Carol’s grandson steals her business cards and sticks them in the spokes of Bobby’s wheelchair. Married…With Children: By committing felonies Thirtysomething: Ethan plays with a forbidden toy rocket. The Flintstones: They don’t.

How They’re Punished

The Brady Bunch: ”It’s not what you did, honey — it’s that you couldn’t come to us.” The Bradys ”Next time, ask.” Married…With Children: By the authorities Thirtysomething: It blows up in his face. The Flintstones: They’re not.

What Family Does For FunThe Brady Bunch: Takes special three-part vacations to Hawaii and the Grand Canyon The Bradys: Has flashbacks Married…With Children: Exchanges insults Thirtysomething: Talks The Flintstones: Attends showings of The Monster at the Bedrock Drive-In

Unsolved MysteriesThe Brady Bunch: How exactly did Carol’s first husband and Mike’s first wife die? The Bradys: What’s with Marcia’s new face and Bobby’s blonde hair Married…With Children: What kind of hair spray does Peg use? Thirtysomething: Why did Nancy take Elliot back? What do Gary and Susanna see in each other? The Flintstones: How does Barney’s shirt stay on if he has no shoulders? Where do Fred and Wilma plug in their TV?

Worst BehaviorThe Brady Bunch: The Brady children once made Alice feel under-appreciated.

Best Reason To WatchThe Brady Bunch: This is what life should be. The Bradys: They’re all grown-ups now! Married…With Children: Terry Rakolta hates it. Thirtysomething (Tie) This is your life. This isn’t your life. The Flintstones: This is what life might have been.

Best Reason Not To WatchThe Brady Bunch: Blurred vision from rerun overdoses. The Bradys: You’re all grown-ups now. Married…With Children: She has a point. Thirtysomething: After a while, you think it’s real. The Flintstones: The Simpsons